Tartalomjegyzék

World of Warcraft: Legion is the sixth expansion for World of Warcraft, announced at Gamescom on August 6, 2015. The expansion is planned to be released sometime in 2016.[1] The expansion's beta is planned for later in 2015.[2]

The tomb of Sargeras has been reopened, and the demons of the Burning Legion pour into Azeroth. Their full, terrifying might is fixed on summoning the Dark Titan to Azeroth-and they've already located the key to his return.

With the Alliance and Horde devastated, adventurers must take up legendary artifacts and weapons used by the heroes of old, scour the ancient Broken Isles for relics of the Titans, and challenge the Burning Legion before Azeroth's last hope dies.[3]

Following the events of Warlords of Draenor, Gul'dan is expelled by his demonic masters into the original Azeroth, with a special purpose - to find and awaken the demon hunter Illidan Stormrage. With his mission achieved, Gul'dan has reopened the tomb of Sargeras, turning it into a gateway to endless Legion worlds, through which a demonic invasion greater even than the War of the Ancients is underway.

After racing to the tomb of Sargeras and the Broken Shore, the defenders of Azeroth will find themselves exploring the long-forgotten Broken Isles in search of the Pillars of Creation, titan relics which were used to shape the world - and which are Azeroth's only hope for closing the massive demonic portals at the heart of the tomb. However, the Broken Isles - a graveyard land which 10,000 years ago was home to the then mighty night elf civilization - come with their own perils to overcome, from the demon lord Xavius and his satyr armies, to the vrykul's god king, to the exiled Nightfallen night elves, and the deadly Queen Azshara, ruler of the naga.

As part of this desperate search, the Kirin Tor, now led by Khadgar, will move the floating city of Dalaran the shores of this land, with the city serving as a central hub for the efforts of the world's heroes. The death knights of Acherus will also take their floating necropolis to the Isles.

To defend their world against the onslaught of the Legion, the heroes of Azeroth will seek out legendary weapons to wield in battle - Ashbringer, Frostmourne, Doomhammer - but will also find themselves embracing new and unexpected allies, in the form of the Illidari, Illidan's demon hunter disciples, awoken in desperation by the wardens that guarded them to fight against the Legion in this hour of need. Ongoing conflict between the Alliance and Horde will also lead to the formation of the Class Orders, with exceptional commanders putting aside faction to lead their classes in the fight against the Legion.

The expansion will see story-based modifications made to Dalaran, including changes to the centre as well as the Underbelly, which may see a new free for all PvP area.[5] The rogue Order Hall may also be located here.

Artifacts are a special new type of weapon, and are the only weapons players will wield over the course of the expansion.

Players can acquire these new weapons early in the expansion's run, and the weapons will grow in power alongside players. Players will be able to earn Artifact Power through engaging in most types of play, and can spend this to unlock a unique tree of traits traced upon the form of their Artifacts, enhancing their abilities. Players can also obtain a new type of Relic from major content such as dungeons and raids, and use these to upgrade the Artifact itself. Artifacts also come with an extensive range of visual customization options.

There is an Artifact for each class specialization, 36 in total. For example, Blooddeath knights and Frost death knights will have different Artifacts. Obtaining each Artifact will involve a unique quest to seek out these powerful weapons.

Class Orders represent the collective effort of each class to band together to face the threat posed by the return of the Burning Legion.[2] With tensions between the Alliance and Horde preventing faction leaders from working closely, it is up to the classes themselves to unite to focus on this threat, and do what needs to be done.[2]

After their success on Draenor, the player will be looked to as the leader for their entire class. The Class Order creation process will begin with the acquiring of an Artifact. With this serving to inspire the allegiance of the other member's of the player's class, the player will found their Order Hall.[2]

Class Orders will have their base of operations at unique Order Halls, special locations with a strong connection to the class. These class-specific areas will only allow access to players of the corresponding class, and will serve as a centre for coordinating the efforts of that class, including sending champions on missions.

Order Halls are in many ways Legion's counterpart to Warlords of Draenor's garrisons. They serve as a secondary hub for players outside of the main capital of Dalaran, and allow players to command a team of champions to undertake special missions. A key difference to garrisons is that the Order Halls are realm-wide, and will be open to all characters of that class, including characters of both factions.[2][5] Order Halls are also not intended to players' main residence during the expansions, but instead somewhere to travel to to send champions on missions, customize Artifacts, and pick up special quests, before likely returning to the capital of Dalaran.

The evolution of Warlords of Draenor's follower system, Order Halls will feature class champions, which the player will be able to send on missions.

In contrast to the follower system, which saw players recruiting a large number of miscellaneous characters, in Legion players will command a far small force of exceptional champions, with some fairly major lore characters such as Lady Liadrin for the Horde. As with followers, players will send their champions on missions, but these missions will be more integrated into the rest of the game experience, unlocking content and enabling the player in related zones. For example, missions may open new areas for questing, or grant special buffs to the player while in certain zones. Players are intended to work alongside and with their champions, rather than competing with them for rewards.

A major theme of Legion will be the forging of clear and distinct identities not only for each class, but also for each specialization. While some of this will be achieved through the Class Order and Artifact systems, the developers also plan on making significant changes to the concept, design and in some cases main functionalities of the existing specs.

Marksmanship hunters will continue to fight at range, but will no longer use pets.

Survival hunters will continue to use pets, but will now be a melee spec.

Priests

Discipline priests will move away from their focus on shielding, instead becoming "a lot more offensive". They will focus more on an altered and more interactive Atonement, using damage-dealing abilities to selectively heal allies.

Rogues

Rogues will also see increased separation between specs, with Combat becoming more of a "Pirate Swashbuckler" spec, and Assassination focusing more on poisons and damage over time.

Warlocks

Demonology warlocks will no longer use Metamorphosis, as this will be a key ability of the demon hunter class. Demonology warlocks will instead return to a focus on using and improving their pets.

Further changes to class and specialization abilities will come in the form of new PvP-only talents; see New honor system, below.

Legion will see some of the biggest changes to the player vs player experience in recent years, with the removal of PvP gear, a dramatic reduction of gear significance in PvP, and the introduction of the first true PvP talents.

At the heart of the changes lies the new honor system. The new system will remove Honor Points and Conquest Points, replacing them with a new PvP talent system, granting access to new abilities that will function only in PvP combat, representing the major division in abilities between PvP and PvE. Long requested by some players, the division is intended to finally allow the designers to create two different versions of the classes, allowing for far better balance in both arenas.

Players will also be able to earn "prestige ranks" for access to cosmetic rewards. The intention is that players who wish to focus purely on gameplay can quickly reach the maximum power for their character, and enjoy PvP without being at any disadvantage. Meanwhile, those players interested in cosmetic rewards, or simply attaining recognition for their achievements, can choose to pursue the prestige ranks, giving them more substantial goals to work toward over time.

The new honor system is also intended to heavily reduce the importance of player gear in PvP play. In the new system, the significance of gear will be heavily scaled down, with the best gear in the game providing perhaps a 7% advantage over a character who has just reached max level. This aims to still provide some satisfaction from acquiring new gear, but to for the most part remove the significance of gear from PvP, returning the focus to playing ability as well strategic options such as talent choices. It will also see the complete removal of PvP gear itself, along with PvP stats such as resilience.[5]